I've never shopped on Black Friday. Here's why: mile-long lines, customers clawing over products, impulse-buy hysteria, and doorbuster mania. It's shopping MAYHEM.
Add to that list the documented instances of aggression, and I guess you could group me in the 7% of respondents in a recent survey who said they don't shop on Black Friday because "It scares them."
Actually, it's more "I don't want to get up early," like 34% of respondents. Wake up at 4 a.m. to save 50 bucks on an appliance? I don't care how much I want a bargain--not happening.
Clearly not everyone is a Black Friday party pooper like me, though. Last year, Black Friday weekend accounted for $45 billion in total sales. Retailers rely on Black Friday to amp up flat sales, and they battle it out against each other to win customer loyalty and sales. This year, goliath Walmart is changing the rules: in addition to releasing its Black Friday deal book early, Walmart is opening up to customers before the clock even strikes midnight. They'll swing open doors at 10:00pm Thursday. Whoaaa-aah. The crowd goes wild!
Over in the other corner, big contenders like Target and Best Buy are following suit to keep up. On the heels of Walmart, they'll open stores at midnight this year. Best Buy customers who show up after 9pm at featured locations can even watch outdoor screenings of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 while their turkey dinner digests and store employees scramble inside to get the shelves in pristine condition.
Speaking of the employees, however, all these souped-up Black Friday features aren't being met with equal enthusiasm. Some backlash in public perception has washed over the major retailers; most notably, one Target employee created an online petition, Tell Target to Save Thanksgiving, arguing that the early openings will rob employees of Thanksgiving time spent with family. Over 180,000 people have already signed in support.
Best Buy seems to have encountered some pushback as well, as Brian Dunn, Best Buy CEO told the Wall Street Journal, "I feel terrible" of being forced to "make a very difficult decision" to compete with the rival companies. Hey, Mr. Dunn, if all your friends jumped off a bridge...
Interestingly, little criticism seems to be going in Walmart's direction. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
Seriously though, I get that retailers are feeling the pinch, and that the rabid public demands earlier shopping hours. At least that's the way Target tried to ease the tension in a statement: "We have heard from our guests that they want to shop following their Thanksgiving celebrations rather than only having the option of getting up in the middle of the night." I'm curious where this heresay came from. Comment cards? Official polling? Chit-chat with a few customers?
Opinion incoming: I'm not anti-corporation or anti-crazed-shopping (as long as I don't have to be there) by any means, but when companies say, "I feel bad, but we had to.." or "it's the customers who want it" in response to their policies (which they certainly have a right to make), it doesn't sit well with me.
How do you feel about it? Is Black Friday's takeover of Thanksgiving a sign of the demise of society as we know it?
--Jane
Photo taken from this photostream and used with permission of a Creative Commons license.
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